Couch surfing is a good thing to go with....you might wanna check out the sanctuary, although it might just be like the Bay Area in Thailand , if you get my drift. Having said that it has all the stuff you need to cure yourself from doing all the other stuff Two very dear friends of mne hung out here for a month and raved about it.
Good luck with the travels...always good to shake off the cobwebs.Sanctuary

I don't have much faith in the police, but there are some anomalies out there! Happy to hear you got one of the good ones, though it totally lowers your street cred, for sure. I had an cop stop me in Oregon while on tour-very early in the morning and I was going twice the speed limit through his little town. I also had 3 drunk band mates, oozing alcohol fumes from every pore, so when I opened the window to talk to him I was not expecting a civil interaction. He ran checked my papers, ran my name, and wished us luck at our next show. I shook his hand.

Your hair looks amazing. very modern and sexy! I have always considered Burning Man; it is a bit of a trek from NY state, and to fly with camping gear is aweful, but i have many fellow pagan festival goers that love it! I would be interested to here about your experience. Are you into the fire dancing arts? I have been spinning poi and various other firetoys for a while now-- I love it and it is so addicting. No hula hoop for me though; I always did suck at hula hoop. Have you seen the funnel things designed so women can pee standing up? A friend of mine said they were all over Buring Man last year?

have fun! Have beautiful Visions. Watch the sun rise in the desert, Be safe

Starting about fifteen minutes before this verdict was announced, I could hear helicopters swarming the air above my house (I live maybe a mile from downtown Oakland), and soon sirens joined the chorus that lasted for hours until I finally left and went to San Francisco for the night. The protests were mostly peaceful though, and the rioting was minimal by Rodney King... Read More

Im going to Santa Barbara to visit a friend I havent seen in like a year. excited to see them. Plus Santa Barbera is gorgeous. We are going to the Steinbeck museum in Salinas where a lot of his novels took place. He is one of my favorite authors.

Still waiting to find out if justice will be served...tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock...

And in other news, life continues to go on.

I woke up this afternoon disgruntled from an interaction with the boy. Then I couldn't find my cigarettes, so I peeked in the mirror long enough to remove most of the crusties from my eyes and shuffled out to... Read More

There is a little bit of tension in the air today
in Oakland!
My fair city,
the town by the Bay.

Let's just say that in 2003, when the Raiders won the playoffs, we rioted, and then when they lost the Superbowl, we rioted again. Who thinks that Oakland won't live up to its reputation when the verdict drops for a white cop... Read More

i am very sorry to hear of the issues in your area. The intersection of racism and institutional power is never good. I understand your dilemma, however, I often struggle with my mostly pacifist self and the anger i feel at people who abuse their power, especially police. I volunteer at mens' prisons and run a pagan group (with three other women) and we deal with the asshat-ness of the gaurds all the time; I have to suck it up, or the warden will just not let us in, but they often abuse their power. it makes be sick when I hear about men getting raped by guards and there is nothing we can do, or it is just worse for our guys. It is very difficult to feel powerless to help the situation.

The spreeding poverty and joblessness in America is causing more and more desperation and violence. i strongly beleive that if everyone could meet their needs- enough food, clean water, approporiate shelter, hygiene and healthcare,something to feel proud about, entertainment - that people would not choose violence, unfortunately this is not the situation . Too many people live in poverty.

I also strongly believe in karma and reincarnation - this police officer will get his. Sometimes, though, that offers little comfort now.

how are you doing with all this? Do you feel safe where you are now? Do you have a place to go if you don't?

Ok, I'm accepting it. Lightblooms has been in MR over 30 days now and has not been bought, so most likely it never will be. That's ok. I am really happy with the response (97% loved it!), but at the same time I see areas in which I could have done better.